Maya declares she started to have a passion for music in early teens and decided to learn how to produce music using the Cubase software program when she was fifteen.[4] She first produced hip-hop and trip hop. A few years later, she released her first two records on Dogmatik Records, in 2008 and 2009, which were more house music based.

Having already remixed acts such as Massive Attack and Gorillaz with her duo She Is Danger,[8] Maya gained her breakthrough exposure in 2010, when she released a four-track EP on Franck Roger's label,[9] Real Tone Records. She was then named by DJ Mag as one of the best newcomers that year,[10] as her track "What They Say", taken from the eponymous EP, was also one of the most playlisted by DJs on Resident Advisor.[11][12]

In 2011, she featured on many specialised magazines' covers like Mixmag's,[13] and her growing fame opened new doors, such as the BBC's, which invited her to record an Essential Mix of her own which was later nominated for Essential Mix of the Year 2011.[14] Later on that year, she was voted ‘Best Newcomer 2011′ at the Ibiza DJ Awards 2011 and came ninth place in Resident Advisor's annual DJ ranking.[15]

In 2012, Maya won 'Best House/Garage/Deep House' track at the Miami Winter Music Conference 2012,[16] 'Staff Pick: Artist of the year 2011' at the Beatport Awards,[17] DJ Mag's ‘Producer of the Year 2011′,[18] Mixmag's ‘Best Breakthrough DJ 2011′,[19] FACT's 'Female Artist 2011',[20] and Symphonic Distribution's 'Artist Of The Year 2012' [21]

Later in the year, Maya Jane Coles was invited to record a mix for the DJ Kicks collection. The volume she produced was released in April,[22] and obtained a favourable reception from specialised media.[23][24] In November, Rolling Stone places Maya Jane Coles at the fifteenth rank of its world's 25 most influential DJs list.[25]

Maya was later invited back to record a second BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix in 2013.[26]

In 2017, Coles released her sophomore album Take Flight on her own label, I/AM/ME. The 24 track album peaked at number 37 in the overall UK albums chart during the week of release, number 26 in the Independent label chart[29] and number 15 in the Billboard Dance and Electronic Album Sales Chart.[30] The album received immense support, receiving a 72% score on Metacritic[31], gaining coverage from a number of high tier publications including Mixmag,[32][33][34][35]Pitchfork and Billboard[36], as well as receiving DSP support such as a banner on the iTunes Electronic page, a spot in Spotify New Releases, Apple Music New Releases and was named Beatport Artist of the Week[37]. Maya gained 2 ‘Essential New Tunes’ from Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1 for two of her singles from the album, ‘Cherry Bomb’ and ‘Trails’[38] and to top of her year, she won Best Album and Best Producer at the DJ Mag Best of British Awards 2017 off the back of her ‘Take Flight’ album. [39]

2017 also saw Maya gain a number of selected mix placements such as her Essential Mix, which was shortlisted for Essential Mix of the Year,[40] Annie Mac’s Mini Mix[41], Channel 4 Best Before[42], Beats1 Mix[43] as well as Radio 1 Live in Ibiza[44]. Going into 2018 she also secured a British Airways exclusive mix with her full album also added in flight.[45]

^ abAndrew Ryce (17 April 2012). "Maya Jane Coles - DJ-Kicks". Resident Advisor. Coles isn't concerned with exclusivity, nor staying particularly up to date with brand new tracks, and she doesn't need to be—her mixing carries enough personality to make it distinctive without any of that contextual baggage. It's not a particularly flashy or technically thrilling mix, it's just one of the UK's most intriguing young DJs at the peak of her powers, a well-timed snapshot of a burgeoning big name.